Did You Know?

During its history, Brandeis has been visited by many of the greatest artists of their time, including Aaron Copland, Marian Anderson, Marc Chagall, Martha Graham, Arthur Miller, Marilyn Horne, Philip Glass, Barbra Streisand, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Tony Kushner and Steven Spielberg.

The Arts at Brandeis

The Brandeis School of Creative Arts offers a distinguished array of undergraduate, post-baccalaureate, graduate and doctoral degrees in the arts. By uniting creative expression with academic inquiry, we educate our students to become accomplished artists and engaged citizens prepared to contribute to a multicultural society.

During its history, Brandeis has been visited by many of the greatest artists of their time, including Aaron Copland, Marian Anderson, Marc Chagall, Martha Graham, Arthur Miller, Marilyn Horne, Philip Glass, Barbra Streisand, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Tony Kushner, Yo-Yo MA and Steven Spielberg. Leonard Bernstein served on the Brandeis music faculty from 1951 to 1955 and as a trustee from 1976 until his death in 1990.

Each year, more than 350 professional and student arts events take place on campus, with annual attendance of approximately 35,000 people. At Brandeis, the visual and performing arts are more than just entertainment and decoration. They build community, help nurture multiculturalism, provide a humanistic balance to modern technology and inspire creative responses to the complex issues facing today's world.

The Office of the Arts was founded in 2003 to cultivate the performing, visual and cultural arts at Brandeis as a meaningful component of a liberal arts education and research study. It advocates that creativity and active participation in the arts are essential to humanistic learning and social transformation. The Office of the Arts also publishes the biannual magazine State of the Arts.

The Brandeis Theater Company produces a four-play season at the Spingold Theater Center featuring professional guest artists, students and faculty from the Department of Theater Arts. The 2012 season included Shakespeare's "The Comedy of Errors",  and Oliver Goldsmith's "She Stoops to Conquer."

Last season, Brandeis developed a new play in partnership with the Tony-nominated Primary Stages School of Theater in New York City. Theater tickets are available online or at 781-736-3400.

The Brandeis Concert Season features more than 50 professional and student concerts each year in the Slosberg Music Center. The Lydian String Quartet has been in residence at Brandeis for 30 years, performing and coaching recipients of the Leonard Bernstein Music Fellowship. The MusicUnitesUS World Music Series brings international musicians to campus to share diverse histories and cultures through the universal narrative of music. Brandeis is home to six outstanding student ensembles including the Brandeis-Wellesley Orchestra, which is regarded as one of the finest in New England.

The Rose Art Museum is an educational and cultural institution dedicated to collecting, preserving and exhibiting the finest of modern and contemporary art. The programs of the Rose reflect the mission of the university, embracing its values of academic excellence, social justice and freedom of expression. The Rose is home to Brandeis's distinguished art collection, particularly strong in American art of the 1960s and 1970s. The museum is free and open to the public.

The Leonard Bernstein Festival of the Creative Arts was founded in 1952 by the legendary composer to celebrate the university's first commencement. Each spring, it offers exhibitions and performances by international, national and regional artists, actors and musicians, as well as by Brandeis students and faculty. The festival is free and open to the public, attracting an annual attendance of approximately 6,000 people from across Greater Boston.

The Arts and Social Justice

Brandeis's commitment to social justice is reflected in many of the university's arts programs and research centers where the arts play a significant role in tikkun olam — "repairing the world."

The Slifka Program in Intercommunal Coexistence, housed in the International Center for Ethics, Justice and Public Life, works with theater, music and visual artists around the globe to explore the intersection of the arts and peace-building.

The Women's Studies Research Center is home to the Kniznick Gallery, the only exhibition space in New England devoted to women's art. Through the community outreach program MusicUnitesUS, students from the Waltham Public School District attend free world-music concerts to learn about cultural diversity in relationship to their social studies curriculum.

Greater Boston Arts

The arts in Greater Boston are world famous. Brandeis students receive free admission to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and are just minutes from Broadway in Boston, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Boston Pops, Opera Boston and the Boston Ballet — all with student discounts.